My 13-year old daughter broke her ankle and has a cast from her toes to just below her knee. I was wondering if anyone has experience using a cast cover in the shower.
Our bathtub has a sliding glass door and is facing the wrong way for her, so to take a bath she would have to sit straight up (because the faucets would be behind her back) and would have to prop her leg up extra high because the glass doors have a good 2" track that sticks up over the edge of the tub.
I've seen a Curad brand I can order online from Walgreens and a Seal Tight brand I can get through Amazon, both of which are priced around $15. They have good reviews, but I would like input from you guys if you have any experience. All the reviews seem to indicate the covers work much better than a plastic bag with duct tape, plus they are reuseable so I'm not throwing out trashbags every time.
Thanks!
We did one bath with the cast wrapped in two trash bags and duct tape, and it was such an ordeal that I ended up ordering the cast cover. It's a Seal Tight Original waterproof cast cover and it works perfectly. She can actually take a shower with it on - just needs me to help her in and out of the tub. $15 was a small price to pay to try to give her back a little bit of normal.
If worse comes to worse there's always the good old fashioned sponge bath.
You don't have to immerse in water to get clean.
Use small amounts of soap (or baking soda) so you don't need tons of water to rinse.
I've never found any cast cover that kept it completely dry.
I ditto the trash bag and duct tape, Best thing ever made. I've broken my aren several times ad have found sat covers to be utterly useless. I've actually had to have one cast replaced because it got too wet after using a cast cover provided by the doctor.
What I;e done is use either a plastic trash bag, or a smaller plastic bag from the produce department from the grocery store. I slide the bag over the cast and then tape it securely in place. I'd suggest yu still try to keep the leg dry and as little water off the plastic s dry as possible, but you are better protected. Be sure to use a new bag every few days just in case the old bag springs a hole or a leak. Oh yea, I forgot. I've sometimes found that rubber bands do a better job of holding the bags on a keeping the water out, if you can find some that are big enough to go around her legs.
I am so sorry your daughter (and you!) is going though this! {{Hugs}} too both of you.
We used a double layer of grocery bags and rubber bands. :-)
Duct tape and a trash bag might actually be cheaper.
A wash cloth/poof bath. We called them bird baths, where you just wash the major areas. A detachable shower head for more controlled water direction. We have one with a switch on the head that can turn off the water while you move it around.
I spent 2 months in a body cast when I was younger. These were the best options for me.
I'm not sure if this would work for an area as large as a leg cast, but my SIL is a nurse and deals a lot with patients who have ports in their arms or chests. She advises they use Press-n-Seal wrap to cover their must-stay-dry areas. Works like a charm.
It might not be worth it if you have to cover a large area, but it seems easier than whipping out the duct tape! :)
Just recovered myself from a trimalleolar break in January. Can she sit on a shower chair at a 90 degree angle to the faucets with her leg propped up outside the shower?
I used a detachable shower head on a slide bar that my husband would make sure to lower each morning (he already stood a foot taller than me and we had that arrangement anyway!). I sat in a shower chair inside the shower and propped my cast leg up on a towel on the walker that stayed just outside the shower such that most of my lower leg was outside the stall. I would use cling wrap around the top of the cast from about 3 inches above it to about 3 inches below. I used less and less cling as my bathing skills improved. With the handheld shower head, I was able to direct the water where I needed to. I could rest the shower head across my lap, or just place it down and turn off the water so I could lather my hair or wash myself (hello Navy-style shower). With this method, I don't think my cast ever got wet. I hope this helps a bit. And just an FYI, I was able to borrow the medical equipment from a local chapter of the Lion's Club. Maybe there is an organization near you that can help.
I wish a very speedy recovery to your daughter. And she should go to all her PT sessions; PT has been my saving grace.
So sorry.
My daughter just got out of a cast for her wrist. Anyway we first used garbage bag and duct tape, then we got a cast cover at Walgreens for 20 bucks. It was awesome. She was not only able to shower but swim as well. (she broke her wrist last day of school and she had vacation with my mom planned)
Anyway good luck to you and many blessings
Your kiddo just needs to put a bag on their leg and stand in the shower where the water won't run in it and wash a bit then get out. Go rent a shower chair for her to use for the next few weeks and have her sit on it and prop her leg on the edge of the shower in the corner or leave the door open a bit for her foot to stick out. She'll get the hang of it and soon be doing okay.
If it's the only shower in the house then perhaps she needs to go to a friends house that has a walk in shower a time or two per week then do quick/wash her hair sorts of showers at your house.
I had a full length cast on one time and it was fiberglass so I could get it wet. Best thing ever. I could stand up and get totally wet. Put a few drops of shampoo in my cast, swish it up and down, watch the bubbles come out of every hole, rinse it over and over until there were no more bubbles, then when I got out I could turn the blow dryer on, low-medium heat, and blow dry my cast. When it came off there was no yucky skin build up that smelled, no scratch marks from putting a hanger down the cast to scratch itching, or anything like that.
My friends girl got a waterproof cast on her leg and she was actually able to get in their pool in the shallower end and play every day. As long as it is able to have air around it and not mold or mildew they are wonderful.
I think your daughter will be fine but no tub bathes or standing showers where all the water will fill her non-waterproof cast can get ruined.
